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3.56 AVERAGE
3.56 AVERAGE
I enjoyed this book overall. The first half was a great pace and exciting, couldn't put it down. The second half was good too, and I felt it was a satisfying ending!
I never do this but this time I have to start making notes beginning with chapter 1; I really feel there are going to be that many. I have NEVER been as frustrated in the first chapter as I was in this book. NEVER. I'm listening because I made it through the entire first book which ended on a literal cliff hanger and I could just stop there, could I?
So here are my thoughts, nearly live-blogged.
Chapter 1
The entire royal family and the master mage (5 of the most powerful mages in the entire kingdom) when for a picnic and haven't returned, already missing meetings, and it is getting late in the day. Asher and Matt go looking for them and find the prince lying in the road hurt. So neither of them being mages or doctors (pothers) they do the prudent thing and immediately ride back for help (one of them at least). Right? Because no matter what happened or where the rest of the family is they must all be in at least as bad shape as the prince or they would have helped him or called for help, right? And there is nothing either of the characters could do for anyone alone. So that is totally what happened. Wrong! They ride on and find another person lying in the road - the master mage - in even worse shape but still alive. OK, so NOW one of them rides back, right? Nope, they keep going forward until they see evidence that the carriage went over a cliff. Then they stand around arguing about who is going over the cliff to look for survivors and who is going to ride back. For a REALLY long time. Then Matt agrees to go back only to stand around reminding Asher to 'be careful' for a bit then they argue about what to say to the coachman's wife if she shows up wondering where her husband is... seriously. WTF!
In the previous book, the author tends to be rather wordy and the conversations do tend to drag on at times but this one is the absolute worst yet. I can fathom anyone not saying IMMEDIATELY upon finding the prince - go get help now! I'll stay with the prince. Or something like that.
So here are my thoughts, nearly live-blogged.
Chapter 1
The entire royal family and the master mage (5 of the most powerful mages in the entire kingdom) when for a picnic and haven't returned, already missing meetings, and it is getting late in the day. Asher and Matt go looking for them and find the prince lying in the road hurt. So neither of them being mages or doctors (pothers) they do the prudent thing and immediately ride back for help (one of them at least). Right? Because no matter what happened or where the rest of the family is they must all be in at least as bad shape as the prince or they would have helped him or called for help, right? And there is nothing either of the characters could do for anyone alone. So that is totally what happened. Wrong! They ride on and find another person lying in the road - the master mage - in even worse shape but still alive. OK, so NOW one of them rides back, right? Nope, they keep going forward until they see evidence that the carriage went over a cliff. Then they stand around arguing about who is going over the cliff to look for survivors and who is going to ride back. For a REALLY long time. Then Matt agrees to go back only to stand around reminding Asher to 'be careful' for a bit then they argue about what to say to the coachman's wife if she shows up wondering where her husband is... seriously. WTF!
In the previous book, the author tends to be rather wordy and the conversations do tend to drag on at times but this one is the absolute worst yet. I can fathom anyone not saying IMMEDIATELY upon finding the prince - go get help now! I'll stay with the prince. Or something like that.
This book was such a pleasant surprise. It has been on my book shelf for a while - it had been on sale at the bookstore a few months ago so I picked it up. I love the characters and really care about what happens to them. The world the author has built is interesting and the good vs. evil theme is illustrated well by the wall separating the two. Great read.
adventurous
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
The Innocent Mage wasn't a bad read but a vast majority of it was filler. It was a nice way to introduce the cast but it drug on for a rather long time before actually getting to the "meat" of the book. The Awakened Mage feels the same way. It drags on for so long, in fact, that over halfway through the book I began to wonder if there would be a third installment simply because I couldn't imagine this book wrapping up in time. I was shocked when I realized that this is, indeed, the end of this part of the story; I was on the edge of my seat wondering how Miller pulled it off.
It has a little more to it than The Innocent Mage but way too much time is spent inside the minds of the characters rather than on the main plot.
What's even more disappointing is that, despite the large amount of time the author dedicates to everything but actively pushing the main plot, most of the characters fail to grow. The main character begins the series as an annoying jerk and is even more frustrating by the end of the tale. He's no hero and yet he's referred to as a good guy all throughout the series. Having everyone say he's a good guy isn't enough; you actually need to show it which Miller failed to do.
Then there is the female lead, Dathne, who starts out as a strong, intelligent woman but turns into a blathering fool. Her dialogue by the end of the series is so unlike her it's uncomfortable to read.
The only character that really makes much of a change is Darran. I don't think that spending this much time on "filler" should result in undeveloped characters... So much potential wasted. I don't want to hate my hero! Give your readers something - a redeemable quality, an interesting backstory, anything.
Also an issue is the fact that all of this magic exists and it all ties together somehow and yet by the end of this book, you aren't really sure how. You know this does this and that does that but have no idea why. You don't understand why Barl made the decisions that she did or why she was treated like a holy figure.. And once you realize why Morg is so evil, you can't help but go, "What? Really? That's it?!"
I think the idea is interesting but the execution was sloppy. If you want me to invest more time in reading your work, give me a good reason to. Between the two books you are already looking at over 1200 pages; I don't think I should have to delve into yet another installment to understand certain plot points when the first two books were so disappointing.
It has a little more to it than The Innocent Mage but way too much time is spent inside the minds of the characters rather than on the main plot.
What's even more disappointing is that, despite the large amount of time the author dedicates to everything but actively pushing the main plot, most of the characters fail to grow. The main character begins the series as an annoying jerk and is even more frustrating by the end of the tale. He's no hero and yet he's referred to as a good guy all throughout the series. Having everyone say he's a good guy isn't enough; you actually need to show it which Miller failed to do.
Then there is the female lead, Dathne, who starts out as a strong, intelligent woman but turns into a blathering fool. Her dialogue by the end of the series is so unlike her it's uncomfortable to read.
The only character that really makes much of a change is Darran. I don't think that spending this much time on "filler" should result in undeveloped characters... So much potential wasted. I don't want to hate my hero! Give your readers something - a redeemable quality, an interesting backstory, anything.
Also an issue is the fact that all of this magic exists and it all ties together somehow and yet by the end of this book, you aren't really sure how. You know this does this and that does that but have no idea why. You don't understand why Barl made the decisions that she did or why she was treated like a holy figure.. And once you realize why Morg is so evil, you can't help but go, "What? Really? That's it?!"
I think the idea is interesting but the execution was sloppy. If you want me to invest more time in reading your work, give me a good reason to. Between the two books you are already looking at over 1200 pages; I don't think I should have to delve into yet another installment to understand certain plot points when the first two books were so disappointing.
According to Karen Miller, the word "prophecy" is synonymous with six hundred year old "conspiracy." By the end of this book, I felt myself agreeing wholeheartedly with the alleged main protagonist Asher. If one more person mentioned the word "prophecy" I was going to somehow find a way to reach into the pages and choke the characters to death.
When I think "prophecy," I think of Nostradamus. I think of something someone predicted was going to happen, spoke of it or wrote it down once upon a time, and then it got forgotten. Generally for centuries at a time. Then one day something happens that seems mighty familiar, and some blow-hard who had it in his head to read some morbid poetry some long dead dude wrote once upon a time claims, "Hey! He predicted this! How come nobody saw it coming? It happened just like he said!" By the time prophecy happens, it's too late for anybody to be prepared for it because, well, it happened.
According to these books, prophecy is something entirely different. It's more like a religion. Then again, religion in this book is based off a woman who died six hundred years previous who wasn't really anyone miraculous. She wasn't born from a virgin, and she didn't preach anything other than "thou shalt not do magic unless ye be Doranen like I was." So what did all these people who weren't Doranen like she was do? They believed the words of some seer about catastrophe coming and her people being to blame and created a secret society to keep an eye on current events for generations to come to make sure it happened.
Again, when I think "prophecy," what I don't envision are a bunch of people orchestrating events in their favor just to make it so. I don't see people knowing about it for six hundred years and then some day the descendant of the first guy who said it having a vision of some other guy and claiming him to be The One. All through these books, everybody but The One knows that he's The One. Well, at least everybody within the super secret society of prophecy believers.
Once again I was stuck with a fantasy novel riddled with cliches, and the ending didn't really surprise me all that much. Prophecy held true as no one could have it expected it, and I confess I teared up a little. But that's only because everybody lived happily ever after... Except the one character who was most likable through the entire two book series. I still didn't like Asher very much, though admittedly I could sympathize with him in some parts.
And, again, I'm still not sure why I liked this book enough to read it through to the very end. It's like the pages themselves, for both books, were magically enchanted to keep me reading. I still feel like I've read this story somewhere else once before. "A new twist on an old tale." I still get that feeling. Like a prophecy I heard once upon a time but just can't completely remember in all its mysterious detail.
When I think "prophecy," I think of Nostradamus. I think of something someone predicted was going to happen, spoke of it or wrote it down once upon a time, and then it got forgotten. Generally for centuries at a time. Then one day something happens that seems mighty familiar, and some blow-hard who had it in his head to read some morbid poetry some long dead dude wrote once upon a time claims, "Hey! He predicted this! How come nobody saw it coming? It happened just like he said!" By the time prophecy happens, it's too late for anybody to be prepared for it because, well, it happened.
According to these books, prophecy is something entirely different. It's more like a religion. Then again, religion in this book is based off a woman who died six hundred years previous who wasn't really anyone miraculous. She wasn't born from a virgin, and she didn't preach anything other than "thou shalt not do magic unless ye be Doranen like I was." So what did all these people who weren't Doranen like she was do? They believed the words of some seer about catastrophe coming and her people being to blame and created a secret society to keep an eye on current events for generations to come to make sure it happened.
Again, when I think "prophecy," what I don't envision are a bunch of people orchestrating events in their favor just to make it so. I don't see people knowing about it for six hundred years and then some day the descendant of the first guy who said it having a vision of some other guy and claiming him to be The One. All through these books, everybody but The One knows that he's The One. Well, at least everybody within the super secret society of prophecy believers.
Once again I was stuck with a fantasy novel riddled with cliches, and the ending didn't really surprise me all that much. Prophecy held true as no one could have it expected it, and I confess I teared up a little. But that's only because everybody lived happily ever after... Except the one character who was most likable through the entire two book series. I still didn't like Asher very much, though admittedly I could sympathize with him in some parts.
And, again, I'm still not sure why I liked this book enough to read it through to the very end. It's like the pages themselves, for both books, were magically enchanted to keep me reading. I still feel like I've read this story somewhere else once before. "A new twist on an old tale." I still get that feeling. Like a prophecy I heard once upon a time but just can't completely remember in all its mysterious detail.
This is the second book in the Kingmaker-Kingbreaker Saga. It is the continued story of Asher and Prince Gar as they are trying - unknowingly - to fight an ancient evil that is trying to destroy the world of their respective people. In this struggle they will have to oversome heartbreaks, betrayals, greed and other weaknesses.
This final story in the series is enjoyable, but the resolution is a bit simplistic and does not bring much to the genre. The story continues with the next series "The Fisherman's Children" where Miller is telling the story of Asher's descendants.
This final story in the series is enjoyable, but the resolution is a bit simplistic and does not bring much to the genre. The story continues with the next series "The Fisherman's Children" where Miller is telling the story of Asher's descendants.